Reliance Jio has reportedly sold 135 million units of its 'JioPhone' devices. The company is relying on 'JioBharat' to help migrate India's 250 million 2G users, particularly in the rural regions, to 4G Internet-enabled phones. Additionally, Jio is also collaborating with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including smartphone brands, and the US-based Qualcomm, to offer a value proposition for 5G-enabled smartphones, according to a senior executive of the telecom company, as reported by ET.
Also Read: Jio JioBharat Series: Models and Pricing Updates for October 2024
Reliance Jio's Subscriber Base
According to TRAI, Reliance Jio's wireless subscriber base stood at 463.78 million as of September. The country's largest operator continued to experience significant subscriber losses for the third consecutive month, with 7.96 million wireless users leaving in September 2024. According to the company, Jio has 148 million 5G users, who contribute nearly 34 percent to its wireless data traffic.
OEM, Qualcomm Partnership
"For all smartphones, we are working very closely with all the partner brands and device manufacturers, whether they are innovating and manufacturing 5G smartphones on a standalone network. We work with Qualcomm to bring down prices and make 5G smartphones affordable for customers," the report quoted Sunil Dutt, President – Devices, at Reliance Jio, as saying.
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Xiaomi's New Budget 5G Smartphone
This week, Xiaomi introduced the Redmi A4 5G, a budget-friendly smartphone priced under Rs 10,000, featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset supporting Jio's 5G Standalone (SA) network. The companies have partnered to migrate millions of 4G feature phone and budget smartphone users to the 5G networks, the report said.
JioBharat Feature Phone Line-up
Furthermore, Dutt reportedly said that Jio is enabling the migration of 2G users to 4G with its affordable 'JioBharat' feature phone line-up with economical mobile packs. "We are giving them information, entertainment, digital payments, and messenger chats. These are very affordable phones with affordable monthly plans, priced at Rs 123 a month, as well as, phones which start from Rs 999 onwards," he reportedly said.
Also Read: Jio Showcases AI Tools, Industry 5.0 and More Innovations at IMC2024
Vision for 2G to 4G Migration
"Our phones are doing extremely well. JioPhone, we have sold around 135 million of those phones. And again, JioBharat has taken off very successfully in the market," Dutt said, according to the report, adding that handset OEMs must take further steps to make 4G feature phones more affordable for the general public.
